CNN-IBN has released a video of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar speaking on the in incidents of assault by lawyers at the Patiala House Court. Kumar was among those recently attacked at the court before his hearing in a sedition case. The video, part of footage taken by a team of Supreme Court lawyers sent to investigate the violence, shows Kumar saying that he was beaten by men in lawyers' robes at the court complex.
The student leader also identified one of his attackers, who he said could have been arrested by the police but was not. Kumar added that the attacker also breached a security cordon and was present in the courtroom. The PhD scholar said he was nearly disrobed during the attack, and that some policemen who were escorting him inside were also beaten up. He added that he believed the attackers were “politically motivated”.
Kumar’s lawyer Vrinda Grover said the Supreme Court should take note of the video and that the police personnel in charge of security erred in their duty. She also asked for action against police officers who did not do anything to stop the violence. Lawyer Vikram Chauhan, who was caught on camera boasting about assaulting Kumar at the court complex, said the student’s testimony cannot be trusted and that there were no eyewitnesses to the incident. The Supreme Court on Friday had issued a notice to Chauhan and two other lawyers seen in the video, which was released by India Today.
Kumar was arrested on charges of sedition for allegedly shouting anti-national slogans at an event organised at JNU in protest against the hanging of the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Two other JNU students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, were also arrested earlier this week, while a third, Ashutosh Kumar, was called in for questioning on Saturday. The Times of India reported that the students have contradictory versions of the event in question, held on February 9, and that Kumar said he did not know Khalid personally. Kumar has also reportedly said his role in the event was limited to that of helping prevent a clash at the protest.
Bhattacharya and Khalid's three-day police custody ends on Saturday. Later in the day, Delhi Police will take them for a hearing at an undisclosed makeshift court, as directed by the Delhi High Court, for security reasons.
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